Monday, November 9, 1998

Cowboys defeat Giants

By Kevin Lyons

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

IRVING, Texas - This was not the typical Dallas Cowboys dominance of an NFC East team. The run defense made New York Giants running back Gary Brown look like Jim Brown. Troy Aikman's effectiveness was limited early because of a lacerated right finger.

But they still managed a double-digit victory against the hapless Giants.

Emmitt Smith ran for 163 yards to become the Cowboys' all-time leading rusher. And, buoyed by a special-teams unit that kept the game on the visitor's half of the field for much of the afternoon, the defense and Aikman shook off some early hurdles to turn a tie game at the half into a 16-6 triumph Sunday.

"I am very proud of the way our guys hung in there and fought," Cowboys coach Chan Gailey said. "It was a fight."

The Cowboys (6-3) improved their division record to 5-0, and completed a season sweep of the Giants. With the Arizona Cardinals 29-27 victory against the Washington Redskins, the Cowboys' division lead remains at one game going into Arizona on Sunday.

The division title could be wrapped up before the end of the month.

"You seldom become a championship football team without getting on one good streak," Gailey said.

Smith gave his club a chance at that streak Sunday. Behind a banged-up offensive line, Smith juked and overpowered the Giants for his eighth-best rushing day as a pro, and his best in two seasons. With 9:56 remaining in the second quarter, he broke Tony Dorsett's club record of 12,036 yards with a 32-yard run off right tackle. His family members, who'd flown in from Florida, were among the 64,316 people at Texas Stadium who gave Smith a standing ovation with the announcement of his achievement.

"I wanted to (break the record) at home, here at Texas Stadium because that's where the dream started," said Smith, who now stands at 12,105 career rushing yards. "It happened so early that I was like, 'Wow, we gotta continue playing the game.' "

That was one of the rare Cowboys highlights of the first half.

The Giants had reduced wide receiver Michael Irvin's effectiveness with double-teaming. He would finish with just three receptions for 23 yards. The series before Smith's record-breaking run, Aikman had cut his finger when he banged his hand on a helmet. He could not even grip the ball, much less throw strikes. He missed the last series of the first half to get an X-ray, which showed no fracture.

"I thought I'd broken it. I had problems gripping the ball, getting a feel for it, and throwing with velocity," said Aikman, whose offense managed two first-half field goals despite starting four of its first five offensive drives at their own 40 or better.

The Cowboys' defense, meanwhile, was having problems of its own. Defensive coordinator Dave Campo tried to force Giants quarterback Danny Kanell into mistakes by calling zone blitzes. The strategy worked on Kanell, who finished with 139 yards passing and was sacked three times. But at times, the Giants countered the blitz by running Brown, who popped free for carries of 34 and 38 yards, and wound up with 119 yards on just 15 attempts.

"We got caught," strong safety Darren Woodson said, "in some zones that let them get the long runs, but we never gave them a touchdown. That was important."

The Cowboys completed their second consecutive game without allowing a touchdown. Woodson had two sacks, including one which set back a second-quarter Giants drive that had advanced to the Cowboys' 1-yard line.

Kanell threw relentlessly at hard-luck cornerback Kevin Smith all day, but he responded with his best game of the season, knocking down several passes, and forcing a fumble that ended another Giants drive into Cowboys territory in the third quarter.

By then, Aikman said his finger was starting to feel better. He laid in a 32-yard pass for Ernie Mills that set up the go-ahead field goal with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter. On the next drive he completed passes to six different wide receivers, with a two-yard scoring toss to Eric Bjornson sealing the Cowboys' victory.

Aikman finished 16-of-23 for 161 yards, after going 5-of-11 for 29 yards in the first half.

"We had tough times getting what we wanted offensively," said Aikman. "But today, unlike a year ago, we made plays down the stretch to win."

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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